Virtual Reality Startup 8i Opens in New Zealand

The company is working on ways to record and view content using Oculus Rift.

Film and technology startup 8i is making Wellington, New Zealand, the home of Peter Jackson’s Weta, its new headquarters. It also revealed that New Zealand-based Sparkbox Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount in the company.

The startup is developing ways of recording and experiencing content using Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles. According to the company, it acquired VR technology that has been in R&D for two years. "8i is now transitioning this secret sauce into a commercialization phase," said co-founder and CEO Linc Gasking.

8i is also enjoying incentives offered in the region, which are also bringing projects such as James Cameron's Avatar sequels to New Zealand.

"Wellington is the perfect place to scale this company," said Gasking in a statement. "There are so many world leaders in visual effects and digital media here."

Grow Wellington CEO Gerard Quinn added: "Wellington has the greatest number of New Zealand's fastest-growing high-tech businesses and is a hub for this thriving, collaborative and dynamic sector. Grow Wellington is working hard to ensure more and more talented people overseas know of the exciting opportunities here."